July 2013 Music Calendar

Calendar updated daily!

FESTIVALS

Celebrate Brooklyn!: One of New York City’s longest running, free, outdoor performing arts festivals. Launched in 1979, as a catalyst for Brooklyn’s performing arts scene and to bring people back into Prospect Park after years of neglect, Celebrate Brooklyn has been an anchor in the park’s revitalization and has become one of the city’s foremost summer cultural attractions. Over the course of its history Celebrate Brooklyn has presented over 1,700 artists and ensembles reflective of the borough’s diversity, ranging from internationally acclaimed performers to emerging, cutting-edge artists.

Central Park’s Summer Stage: An annual, free performing arts summer festival founded in 1986 which takes place at Rumsey Play field in Manhattan, New York City’s Central Park and, since 2010, in parks throughout the five boroughs of New York City.

“In a city happily inundated with summertime cultural offerings, the SummerStage festival stands alone for its dizzying array of options, its local enthusiasm, and its general aura of awe. This year spreads more than 100 free performances across 17 parks in all five boroughs.” The New York Times

Pleasantville Music Festival – (Pleasantville, NY): For $15 (Seniors) and $40 (Everyone else), you can enjoy the 9th Annual Musica Festival put on by “107.1 The Peak” radio station. Ten musical acts, including Brett Dennen, Easy Star All-Stars, The Kopecky Family Band, Bobby Long, Delta Rae, Red Wanting Blue and Mary C and the Stellars and more. The gates open at 12 Noon on July 13 & 14th, 2013. Music continues until 8:30PM. The Pleasantville Music Festival is ADA accessible! TICKETS: http://www.pleasantvillemusicfestival.com/tickets.html

One of the greatest works to emerge from the Beat Generation was Allen Ginsberg’sKaddish, a sprawling, propulsive poem about the poet’s estrangement from Judaism. The 2012 Tune-In Music Festival will begin with a world premiere, commissioned by the Park Avenue Armory from jazz guitarist Bill Frisell, to be performed by the composer and an eight-piece ensemble accompanying a reading of Kaddish by Ginsberg collaborator Hal Willner and artist Ralph Steadman, who will create the visual design and staging to accompany the piece. (Runs 75 minutes with no intermission)

Longtime Glass collaborator Patti Smith and her band join Glass for the second concert, “The Poet Speaks,” performing music and readings celebrating their favorite poets, including Ginsberg and William Blake, which will be the first New York performance for the pair. (Runs approx. 90 Minutes with no intermission)

For the third concert, The Philip Glass Ensemble will offer a rare performance of the entire Music in Twelve Parts, Glass’s epic minimalist composition which he considers his “breakthrough” work. (Runs a total of 5 hours including two short intermissions and one hour long dinner break)

The final day of the Festival will begin with compilation of unique artists that Philip Glass has assembled and represent the forward momentum of contemporary music. (Runs a total of 2 hours 15 minutes with one Intermission)

The Festival concludes with Glass’s Another Look at Harmony, a choral work Glass started in 1975 for organ and 100 voices, performed by the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, the Collegiate Chorale, and organist Michael Riesman, music director and keyboardist of The Philip Glass Ensemble. (Runs 62 minutes with no intermission)

I got my first CD player during Christmas 1995. I was 13. Up until this time, music to me had been limited to whatever I could find on the radio (which I couldn’t rewind), Disney princess movies, other fluffy movie and show soundtracks.

My grandmother had season tickets to Broadway musicals and Classical Series and so I drowned in those, willingly. That music also made up the majority of my tape collection. On the way to school I was able to hear the radio but my mother preferred country against our “harder” choices. We would bond over many of the bands from her time but I still never had what I considered true musical freedom until Christmas 1993 with the arrival of my first CD player.

Mariah Carey's Music Box Album Cover

I see this as a definitive moment in my musical development and the start of a major addiction. I was 15, had allowance and I needed things to spend my money on. I would eventually join Columbia House, BMG Music (both no longer in existence as CD selling companies)and all the other companies that gave me music on the cheap. I would scam them using multiple names, ending up with tons of CDs and not enough time to devour them all. It was the start of my searching; searching for music that filled a hole.

I was given two CDs with my new CD player. My parents, knowing my love for singing and pop culture, gave me Mariah Carey‘s Music Box. My Uncle John (unsure of his motivation) gave me Simon and Garfunkel‘s Bridge Over Troubled Water.

Simon and Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water

Simon & Garfunkel

I would come to memorize every one of the songs on both CDs within days. I fell IN LOVE with Simon and Garfunkel while Mariah Carey disappeared in the back of my CD case after a few months and eventually from my memory.

I was immediately turned on emotionally and spiritually by Bridge Over Troubled Waters. I was 13. I struggled with anger and teenage angst and this CD connected with me on so many levels. The voices, the lyrics, the music. A simply stunning CD. More importantly, it opened me up to a time period in music that I had missed…the 70’s. A few months later, I would find Jerry and the musical hole within me would be filled.

There is so much to say about it but I won’t bore you with my run-on stories. My point is that my connection with Simon and Garfunkel runs deep. Paul Simon is sort of my Bob Dylan. I can hear you all screaming now but it’s true. He may not win in your books for the highest award of lyrical and/or song construction but in my book, he is #1.

The Auditorium Stravinsky stage, described in full in my Overview of Montreux Jazz Festival Post, was littered with musicians. I noticed an accordion, a xylophone, a piano, three guitars, a percussion section, one bass, two drummers, a piano and keyboard, horns, and a violin (I think).

Paul Simon’s desire to incorporate multiple multi-cultural instruments is a huge selling point for me being someone who likes to see change and diversity in her musicians. Simon ranks up there with Bela Fleck for going out in to the world to be the hungry learner, the constant musical hunter. I find so much beauty in musicians like that. We need more musicians like that.

Paul Simon @ Montreux Jazz Festival

This would be my first time seeing Paul Simon live. This was an epic moment for me. I felt giddy, like a school girl (pun intended) going to see her first musical crush. I imagined seeing Paul Simon many times in my life but I never thought the first time would be in this amazing auditorium in Switzerland. I had to cross the world to make it happen and I couldn’t be happier.

The show was in The Auditorium Stravinsky and we were in the #3 box seats instead of #4 from the night previous. I wondered if any stars would surround me again. Esperanza Spalding and Paul Simon had been my box neighbors just a night earlier as I watched The Miles Davis Tribute.

Tonight’s show would consist of multiples titles off Simon’s latest CD, So Beautiful or So What. The CD is built around his acoustic guitar and as the title suggests, the songs consist of views on extremes. However, his projections find themselves somewhere in the middle. His songs lie between the worlds of love and indifference, good and evil, hope and heartbreak. He speaks on everything from Christmas shopping to suicide bombers to Global warming. It speaks of his nephew, who has been on multiple tours of duty to Iraq to Jay-Z and Jesus.

The Making of So Beautiful, So What

Singer-songwriter Paul Simon was listening to a box set of old American recordings one day. Among the songs, he found a Christmas sermon bearing the voice of Atlanta’s Rev. J.M. Gates, a hugely popular preacher in the 1930s and ’40s. That sermon stayed with Simon, who turned it into a song.

“It really struck me, not only because it was really an unusual way of having a Christmas sermon, because it’s very dark, it’s like a warning,” Simon tells Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep, “but also … there was a real rhythmic pulse to it … it sounded so natural. I lived with that for a while, and then I thought, ‘I could write a song called “Getting Ready for Christmas Day,” and find a way of making verses that lead up to the sermon and then follow the sermon.’ “

~ Excerpt from NPR’s interview with Paul Simon (04/12/11)

Setlist:
Boy in the Bubble
Dazzling Blue
Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover
So Beautiful or So What
Slip Sliding Away
Peace like a River
The Obvious Child
Only Living Boy in New York
Learn To Fall
Questions for the Angels
Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes
Gumboots
Sounds of Silence

Encore:
Kodachrome from 1973
Here Comes the Sun
Still Crazy After All These Years
Call Me Al

Simon started his set with “Boy In The Bubble,” the opening song on his 1986 album Graceland. Simon’s lyrics deal with the complex human consequences of modern technology. Do you recall the Boy In The Bubble from the 1980s? Ironically, this was a perfect start to a show that would continue on with songs highlighting intense issues.

“Dazzling Blue” followed and was the first song performed off Simon’s latest album. The song has a heavy African vibe; the stage was cast in a blue curtain of light with the majority of light on Simon alone. Beginning with a talking drum from India, the audience was immediately given access to the love that Simon has for different styles and texture of sound found in various cultures around the globe.

Miles apart, though the miles can’t measure distanceWorlds apart on a rainy afternoonBut the road gets dirty and it offers no resistanceSo turn your amp up and play your lonesome tune

Maybe love’s an accident, or destiny is trueBut you and I were born beneath a star of dazzling blue

~ Lyrics from “Dazzling Blue”

American rock drumming initiated the beginning to “Fifty Ways To Leave Your Lover,” a 1975 hit song from his album Still Crazy After All These Years. The stage was filled with green light and Simon sang about the song’s mistress and her humorous advice to a husband on ways to end a relationship.

Fun Fact: G. Love covered the song on his album Fixin’ To Die (2011) which he recorded with the folk-rock band The Avett Brothers. ~ Thanks Wikipedia

And then Paul spoke…

“Hello my friends. I am so happy to be here. This is my fourth or fifth time here.” ~ Paul Simon to his audience

The bluesy title track, “So Beautiful or So What,” off Paul Simon’s latest album, began with two wooden bars being clapped together. The song verbalizes a lesson about life being what you make of it.

Bemoaning human frailty:

Ain’t it strange the way we’re ignoranthow we seek out bad adviceHow we jigger it and figure itmistaking value for the priceAnd play a game with time and lovelike a pair of rolling dice.”~ Lyrics from “So Beautiful or So What”

I swear I heard a telephone ringing as part of the chorus. It was totally prevalent but I am not sure it was part of the song. At the time, it didn’t surprise me but it made me curious. I loved this song, with its full sound and rock sensibilities. There was a spoon on metal solo, accordion overlay, beaded shakers kept the beat and Paul showed his picking skills. One thing about Paul’s music, the sounds he conjures out of the various worldly instruments he employs in his music is what truly sets each song apart from the next.

Using his mouth in an unusual way to intro the song, Paul Simon chose another oldie, “Slip Sliding Away.” The best way I can describe these mouth sounds would be like when the drawings in the cartoons would take two coconuts to make the sound of a horse walking. It was gorgeous…until there was an equipment malfunction. Paul paused, tapping his fingers on his guitar until his other guitarist strapped in. Flutes and harpsichords were being played but I couldn’t figure out who was playing the beautiful sounds. Simon accompanied the beauty with whistles and the song ended with acoustic scaling and whistling by Simon.

“Peace like a River,” the 7th song of his 2nd studio album, highlighted the piano. Paul’s voice cut right through me. There is something so calming and soothing about his sound. The softness is romantic yet there is fierceness in his delivery that comes off as pure professionalism and eagerness to be different.

I found an eight minute video of the performance which shows nothing, but you can hear Simon on stage clearly and that is what matters:

Four drumsticks counted off as both drummers began the lead into “The Obvious Child.” This song is defined by it’s Latin-inspired rhythms and is off The Rhythm and Saints album released in 1990. Reminiscent of a Big Band feel, we started moving in our seats. Paul Simon knows what I like, he truly does. Bright red lights blew up the stage as Josh was so moved he got up to dance.

Did Paul know his favorite fans were in the audience from NYC? Did he know that the NYCers who were there loved this next song? Perhaps not! But I like to think he did as he broke into “The Only Living Boy in New York.” This song touched me deeply as it was the only song sung off Simon and Garfunkel’s 1970 release, Bridge Over Troubled Water, one of the greatest albums to ever grace this planet.

The irony was not lost on me that on the album it is Art Garfunkel who sings the song while Simon takes a secondary position in the delivery. Not this time. Not tonight.

Bridge Over Troubled Water fun facts:

Fifth and final studio album by Simon & Garfunkel

Reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on February 28, 1970

Won 1971 Grammy Award for Album of the Year

Won 1971 Grammy award for Best Engineered Recording

Title track won the 1971 Grammy Award for Record of the Year

Title track won the 1971 Grammy Award for Song of the Year

Won Best International Album at the first Brit Awards in 1977

#51 on The Rollings Stones ‘Greatest Album of all Time’ List

The tears trickled down my cheeks freely now. It had only been a matter of time before I knew this would happen and I did think it was going to happen sooner then it did. It took eight songs to rip into my heartstrings. I was immediately transported back to being 12 and hearing his voice for the first time and I prayed that he would sing more songs from this album but it never happened.

“Learn How To Fall” was full of horns and fierceness. It was jubilant yet with a serious message of needing to “Learn How to Fall” before you can “Learn How to Fly.”

Then perhaps my favorite song of the performance was next, a song I had never heard before. A song off the new album called “Questions for the Angels.”

On “Questions For The Angels,” a middle-aged man strolls across the Brooklyn Bridge searching for heavenly help, only to be confronted with a Jay-Z billboard for a reply.

A pilgrim on a pilgrimageWalked across the Brooklyn BridgeHis sneakers tornIn the hour when the homeless move their cardboard blanketsAnd the new day is born….

…..Downtown BrooklynThe pilgrim is passing a billboardThat catches his eyeIt’s Jay-ZHe’s got a kid on each kneeHe’s wearing clothes that he wants us to try

~ Lyrics from Questions for Angels

Can I just give props to Paul Simon for picking on Jay-Z? I don’t want to condone any negative tension but I find it hilarious, although not surprising, that Paul Simon chose these lyrics. It makes me recall the feud between NAS (who I am seeing tonight with Damien Marley) and Jay-Z. Would this bring Jay-Z down on Simon? Will there be retaliation through lyrics? Can you imagine that going down? Now, that is some musical drama that I would be interested in seeing take place…just saying.

Speaking on religious material making it’s way into the album:

“It’s not so much that it pops out in a larger way … it’s more frequent. I really had no plan to do that,” Simon says. “They begin as stories, and where they go is just a path I follow. Sometimes spiritual or religious imagery will be part of the story. It’s seldom the point of the story, but it’s a presence that lingers.”

~ Excerpt from NPR’s interview with Paul Simon (04/12/11)

It was back to the old school, this time with songs from Simon’s most famous album, Graceland. At this point I just couldn’t take notes anymore. I had to dance this out. Other members of the audience felt the same way as they were lifted out of their seats during the dueling drummers solos during “Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes.” The song is a pure classic about a short relationship Paul Simon had with a diamond mine owner’s daughter, while recording in South Africa. She was very rich and privileged, yet she acted very down to earth, like a poor girl. The drummers were amazing playing off each other and I longed for a concert of just drummers. Can you imagine? I can.

The Lady Smith Black Mombazo inspired song “Gumboots” kept the dance party going. This song reminded me String Cheese meeting Bela Fleck. There was picking on the guitars and a violin entered the mix. The piano player got up and played the inside of his piano. There was such a wonderful mixture of sound and it kept us all on our feet. It’s a beautiful song inspired by The Gumboot Dance which is an African dance that is performed by dancers wearing Wellington boots. In South Africa these boots are more commonly called gumboots.

The rest of the band joined the stage for “Kodachrome from 1973” This song left the hall so full of sound. Great sound. My friends and I were all up dancing in our box. There was no calming us down.

There you have it 🙂 The end of the set. Exiting the stage to monstrous applause, the entire band left. The entire audience began clapping in unison without letting up. Shortly after, Paul came out alone on his acoustic guitar.

!!!!!!!!!!ENCORE!!!!!!!!!!

When the notes trickled from the stage and the audience heard “Sounds of Silence,” the Auditorium went silent. You could hear a pin drop. “Hello darkness my old friend”…and with that, the tears flowed freely again.

This was definitely the most intimate song of the night. It tore at the heart strings, it made people smile, scream and feel something inside of them stir. Paul’s music does that to you. It’s such a classic song that everyone on the planet knows and is touched by it.

Hello darkness, my old friendI’ve come to talk with you againBecause a vision softly creepingLeft its seeds while I was sleepingAnd the vision that was planted in my brainStill remainsWithin the sound of silence

~ Lyrics from “Sounds of Silence”

Then the audience joined in by humming the lyrics. A single man and his guitar was standing alone on one of the world’s most famous stages and had the entire placed entranced. It was magic. It was awesome. It was music at its simplest. Music at its best.

“Here Comes The Sun” was the second choice with accordions and two guitars with Simon backing the melody. And with that, the stage emptied again.

The following video has “Sounds of Silence” into “Here Come The Sun.” Enjoy!

!!!!!!!!!! ENCORE #2 !!!!!!!!!!

Everyone walked off stage and for a few minutes the audience just chanted in unison. Paul Simon came out yet again for a second encore. There was no end in sight and that was awesome.

I took out Josh’s Iphone and video taped “Crazy Love” in it’s entirety with GREAT quality. Enjoy!

“Still Crazy After All These Years” was next. Paul didn’t have an instrument for these songs. Just his voice.

“We’re living in a certain time, and we’re aware of it. And that’s part of what we’re aware of, along with our own personal aches and pains,” Simon says. “The dialogue between what’s going on in the world and what’s going on internally seems to be a natural thing — well, it’s natural to me, anyway, to have these thoughts.” ~ Excerpt from NPR’s interview with Paul Simon (04/12/11)

“Call Me Al” ended the set. Everyone was finally up dancing now. Dancing down below me and clapping. The flute player moved to the keys. There was a major bass rage. Only a few seconds but so funky! You know the bass line I’m speaking of??

“One of my favorite poets is Philip Larkin,” Simon says. “Philip Larkin didn’t write for several years before his life ended. And when he was asked why he didn’t write, he said the muse deserted him. It sort of scared me. That’s why I think I have no right to assume that some thought is going to come. … But I think, in my imagination, if it is it, there will probably be something else I’m interested in.”

At 70 years old, Paul Simon shows no signs of slowing down. He is a master of his art, with a soft, intelligent voice, that attains an unmatchable sense of melancholy and tenderness. Regarding his latest cd, anyone who can take a sermon and build an entirely new outlook on life through it by music is stellar. I was moved and inspired by this show and I hope that this article touches you in some way that makes you go out and purchase the new album or perhaps invest in seeing him live. Simply Phenomenal.

PHISH 2010 TOUR

What can I possibly say? And how do I say it? Many times, music is a feeling to us.; something that can’t be expressed in words. I try on so many levels, but still feel as though many times I fail in my own wanting to express these massive musical adventures. And THIS was MASSIVE on day one. But by day four…This was EPIC.

Phish @ Hartford, CT

Phish is a band that has been worshiped and written about by the cult masses for years. A band whose name many times doesn’t ring a bell to your average passer-by yet has a cult following in the tens of thousands. A band who has outsold the likes of Madonna, Elton John and Jay-Z in ticket sales numerous years over. A band whose entire studio album collection I own, to include hundreds of live shows spanning almost two decades. However, until this past weekend, I HAD NEVER SEEN THEM LIVE! Being as dedicated to live music and wonderful musicians as I am; being that this is considered THE “IT” GROUP to follow in the Jamband community…having never been, well, this fact was considered to be straight up blasphemy amongst my fellow music tribe.

Phish @ Hartford, CT

I will flat out tell you that I boycotted Phish for many years. I have always been and will always be a Deadhead first and foremost. Where as Phish‘s touring phenomenon is my generations equivalent to the Grateful Dead tours, Trey Anastasio IS NOT Jerry Garcia and thus, nothing would fill the void. Also, and more importantly, I boycotted Phish for the reason that everyone DID consider them the “IT” group. Because I saw how people fell under the SPELL of Phish, swearing they were the end all/be all of the Jamband world. And so I didn’t go to their shows. Instead, I choose to apply my time and money to the hundreds of other bands being left in Phish‘s dust.

Comcast Theater @ Hartford, CT (06/22/10)

Righteous! Much Love Jay!

So, I have this buddy, we shall call him Jay. He is a total Phish head, by way of the Grateful Dead. He spends thousands of dollars on Phish tickets every year for his friends and for himself. Enough for every venue, every show, for whoever might need them, and always great seats. He does this with the greatest intentions of sharing his tickets, stubbing his crew down and working it so that all his friends can be together for the show, grooving together as he bops all over the venue. He offered to treat me to my first Phish show, swearing to me that I would continue on to as many shows as I could after the taste I got in Hartford. This was his world, a world that I was ready to allow myself to enter and already found slightly intoxicating just by the movement that occurs when it’s PHISH TOUR time and those ticket lotteries occur. And it was about to be introduced to me in a pretty sick way.

They each have their own tour bus. No Biggie.

We climbed into the car around 2:30pm Friday afternoon and arrived at the Comcast Theater in Hartford, CT around 5:30pm. This is where the beauty of my Phish experience truly begins. As we are driving through the toll booths, Jen asks the gentlemen if he is going to the show. “Phish?” he says. Jay leans over and tells him to jump in the car with us and that we had a ticket it for him if he just jumped in. I could read the pain on his face. And with that, Jen asks how much. Without missing a beat, the kid goes, “No charge.” “Excuse me?/What/Huh?,” we all say. “You’re good,” he says and we pull away in mid thank yous. We were MIRACLED at the toll booth. And it just got better and better.

The car fit nicely!

Stompin grounds for the evening

With Jay’s All Access laminate, we were able to drive through the masses, past VIP parking and parked it right backstage next to the tour buses. I knew immediately that with this laminate, things were going to get a little rowdy. We chatted up the guard and walked right into the venue through its side you see above. None of us ever being asked to produce our tickets. It was lovely. I snapped pictures and we wandered around the venue checking out the layout, running into other friends along the way. We checked out our seats (Section 200, Row U, Seat 241). I was so excited. I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to rage front row like I normally did but I knew I would be able to see Trey. See his smiling face and his bouncing, vibing, cute, happy self all over the stage and that made me so happy. After combing around the lawn and seeing how far the stage looked from there, I was so very grateful for Jay. We ran into our teenage posse who had been taking pictures on the stage and then we then took off for the lot parties.

The RAGE Stage! Comcast Theater, Hardtford, CT

Checkin out the lawn...cant see stage! Yuck!

As we stumbled upon the parking lots, the scene appeared no different then a musical festival mixed with a Jimmy Buffet concert, full of tailgaters and hippies as far as the eyes could see. Once there, we decided to hit The Shakedown, a rogue section of the Jamband scene that pops up in places surrounding shows/music festivals where folks vend their wares. Definitely a wook-filled vibe in spots but just like all things in life, it was easy to look past the grimy and the dirty to see the beauty in the environment I was walking through. We met some friends at the end of the Shakedown and made plans to meet up inside.

Trey Anastasio @ Hartford, CT

Page McConnell @ Hartford, CT

The show was slated to start at 8:00pm and so we walked back to find our seats and get the party started. At this point, I still hadn’t used my ticket. Jay takes me by the hand and we walk right into the venue, no questions asked. My ticket was never taken out of my pocket. For this venue, we held down five seats in Section 200, a few rows back from the front, towards middle left aisle. I was in the isle as PHISH walked on stage. A security guard leans over to a guy near me and says, “Teach her the rules right now.” Apparently, I had to stay within a certain line so as to be out in the isle…fire hazards and what not. Duh! And that rule was so broken so fast but not by me because within SECONDS of the music starting, Jay once again grabbed my hand and led me to the front row, left side…PAGE side. There it was, I was up front for FEE! And there I stood/danced/smiled all night.

Phish @ Hartford, CT

Trey and Mike @ Hartford, CT

A perfect view of the band. To be standing in the front row at my very first Phish concert was a little overwhelming. I was not expecting anything so great. I figured I would be out in the lawn like most other big shows I attend or in the seats stuck behind some big dudes. I had been assured of our wonderful seating prior to the show but being 5 foot nothing, I am always weary as no one truly knows how little I can see. But I knew going into this trip that things would be above average. It’s just the way things work out. And I was blissfully happy because the energy in that place was hitting me like a freight train. If you think I was happy, magnify it by 1 million and stick that energy into all the people around me who KNEW what they were in store for. The people who built up what was around me and what I was feeling and becoming apart of. Everyone was SOOOOOO happy. Fee was great. A cute song about a weasel named Fee who gets his nipple cut off. Sure, why not!

Thanks Chris!

Chris Kurodas lights ~ EXCELLENT!

I was pleasantly surprised to hear how lovely Page was right in front of my face. Happy to hear the piano a little louder then the other instruments. This song had such great piano amongst the chaos of the story. First song in and I was silently questioning why I had boycotted them for so long. The energy in the pavilion was sick. Everyone was singing, jumping up and down, blowing up balloons and raging in the isles. Sure, this happens at tons of shows where the fans are ridiculously fanatic but this was different. This was extremely more intense.

Thank you Chris Kuroda!

They jammed out during Rift but I wanted more during that song to be honest. A guy a few rows back screamed, “This is my first Phish SHOOOW!!” Of course, I scream back, “ME TOOOO!!” There was a big commotion of hugs and high fives between our groups and I fell in love with our community all over again. He smiled and ended up finding me later during intermission for more hugs. Now, you tell me what other show is like that…on this MASS a scale.

Trey and Mike @ Hartford, CT

With it’s gorgeous melodic intro, Summer of 69 got the venue swaying with its lyrics reminding us that it’s SUMMER and IT’S TOUR TIME!!!

“Glad to find anytime alone / and it’s summer once again / The days are full / but they’re not our own / Remember our life back then.”

And with Mike Gordon‘s bass reentering after the chorus, they ALMOST got me crying. Such a pretty song and SUCH a loving vibe blasting through the venue at that moment. It truly is an experience that so many people just will never attempt nor understand.

Backstage @ Phish, Hartford, CT

In case you didnt know...

During Cavern (the last song of the first set), it was time to rage the bathroom. Jay grabbed my hand and led me backstage. The walls were covered with large pictures of bands that have left their mark on the venue and in the music world. Phun Fact #123: A few days prior, they erected the below photo of Phish, so aptly located next to what was Trey’s dressing room for the evening. Speaking with Trey the previous night, he had been VERY excited and happy about this honor.

Phish on All Star Wall Backstage @ Comcast Theater, Hartford, CT

Unlimited waters was a FABULOUS plus!

While walking backstage, I was shocked at how quiet it was. The band’s dressing rooms were lined up in a row, littered with hippie blankets and children’s toys. Smelling of incense and just shockingly quiet. All these toys but no kids. I knew they had to have an entourage of children and wives and whatnot. That threw me off. Wonder where their rage room was?

Mikes Sound Room

I walked past a little room with a TV screen and what appeared to be a sound board. I would find out later on in the tour in Camden just what this room was meant for. You will have to read that article because I got to hang out with Mike, the sound guy, for a few minutes and it was pretty rad.

Heading back to our seats, we met up with a few more friends. The second set was by far the best set. I was amazed at how well I just flowed into the concert, knowing more of their music then I thought I would as I had listened to them so much in high school. I was thrown back 10 years, when CDs were all the rage. I was actually introduced to Phish when a friend made me a mixed tape and put Bouncing Round the Room and Billy Breaths on it.

Like an alien space ship from SPAAAAAAAAAAAACE!!!

Our teenage posse had joined us, rocking their laminates with the biggest grins and raging with us instead of at their usual soundboard spot. Issac, wide-eyed and holding a tee-shirt, tells us how he ran into Fishman backstage and how Fishman proceeded to proclaim that he “doesn’t LIKE tee-shirts” and gave it to Issac. It was a dope pencil drawing of Jerry’s head, hair blowing across his face due to an unforseen wind. It really was a cool shirt. The following day, Issac was rockin’ that shirt. Damn right, Issac!

Unreal. Beautiful lights by Chris Kuroda!

Trey = Light & Love

When the music started, our front row spot had doubled. How was this possible? Didn’t people own these seats? Were they raging the lawn with their friends? But throughout tour, this is how it went. No matter how many people we brought to our spot, there was always enough room. You always get what you need. Later, I would be told that normally…generally…things like that never happen. Many times, the guards are pushy, constantly asking for your tickets, shuffling people along. But we were lovely music mamas in boas, not drinking, clearly having a GREAT time, staying out of the isle and behaving. I mean, I felt like I was at the Brooklyn Bowl at times. Not like I had 14,000 people behind me raging. I was surrounded by all my best ones, missing those who were not able to be there, and thinking about those who were still spread all over the venue.

Amazing Sauce!

Reba brought the spacey, obscure jam that I so adore from Phish. Like rouge jazz insertions throughout parts of the song, while other parts are fast and solidly melodic. Yet, other sections were rocky and all sections were raging.

Kuroda is Obviously my fav member of Phish! Yes!

And Mike Gordon‘s bass really hit home with me during Cavern. I have been hooked on listening to him ever since. I LOVE Mike Gordon! I LOVE his sound. Whoever does sound for him during this tour is making him sound perfect. He has stood out to me during the entire run. And during Tweezer, ugh, that bass line. Thwacking me across my dome. Phun Fact #72: It is best to always make sure you surrounding security guard is well taken care of. See if they need water, anything really, as it’s best to be on their good side. Diplomacy and politics run in all facets of life including front row at giant venues. By doing so, we were able to take some great pictures with Trey behind us as well as go to the middle for some great shots!

Trey Anastasio @ Hartford, CT

Theme From the Bottom might have been one of my favorite songs of the night for nostalgic reasons. Everyone singing with the band was fun to watch. Glow sticks had made their way from the wars on the lawn behind us up to the front and all sizes of balls had made their way to the stage area. Harry Hood brought another 15 minute jam session. I loved Trey’s guitar in Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan. So, so funky. “Got a blank space where my mind should be,” sang Trey, one of my friend’s favorite lines. The lyrics for Phish songs are great and that was definitely a great line 🙂 And as the guitar just rock-n-wailed, Fishman thumped the drums and the cymbals in perfect time. They are so tight, that even on a horrible night, they can’t be truly bad.

Trey rages! @ Hartford, CT

The best part of this show came at the end, during the encore. Phish played a groovy Tweezer Reprise. Aside from what was about to happen at the end of this song, Trey’s energy is so ridiculously evident in the video below. He was having SO MUCH FUN on that stage that I was loosing my mind. Sure, I loved the music, but as much Live music as I watch, I rarely see the guitar artist I adore bug out and just rage physically. That is what I LOVE to see…when the artist is as much into their music as we are. When their music takes them over, lifting them our of their chairs, off their feet, into the air or sprawling on the floor. Skerik is a prime example of the crazy I like to see in my artists from time to time. I was flipping OUT and it was as much Trey’s energy as the music or the atmosphere. And then right as they finished Tweezer Reprise, Trey jumps back to the microphone and excitedly shouts”,

“You know what! We’re having such a great time. We’ve only got a couple minutes before they kick us off this stage. And we played Tweezer in Hersey Park but we never did Tweezer Reprise. So, we’re going to play it again. THIS IS FOR HERSEY PARK!!!”

Front row ragers!

And RIGHT BACK into another Tweezer Reprise…clearly this was not planned as Mike took a moment to look around and then fall back into round two….and then the place erupted. And by God, if Trey’s energy and the energy in that supernova that was the Comcast Center hadn’t reached it’s boiling point…right at that moment, the eruption shook me to the CORE! I mean, just pure ultimate joy was radiating out of these people floating around me screaming their excitement. Intense is the only word I can think of. Trey was bouncing all over the speakers, the venue was lit on fire. This video will show you everything you need to know! It sounds amazing and looks even better…Definitely hit PLAY!

When the music was over, it was over for good but like a festival, I LOVED knowing that I would be able to do this all over again tomorrow night. Yet, like a concert, I was also happy that the possibility of sleeping in and not having to run to make early music was a nice positive that I immediately picked up on as plus for touring with a band. For a while, we just sat in our chairs chatting over the double Reprise we were just thrown. That was so ridiculous. The power of the people in the pavilion and rolling up the lawn…I could taste it. There were glow sticks everywhere, in piles.

We were staying with a gorgeous family I had met only weeks earlier at Mountain Jam. They lived in Hartford and supplied about eight/ten of us with beds for the night in their lovely villa.

Das Villa! Thank you Levys!

Waking up to the sun filled rooms and the breezy walkways, I was SO excited to think that we would be piling back into a car, and taking off for another state! Another night of Phish and another night of the biggest party you can go to that isn’t on a boat. I can see why my parents kept me from touring with The Dead and Phish back in high school. It was a raging party and they knew once I got a taste….I’d never come back!